• Biden administration to build new border wall in Texas.
Advertisement
• The wall will be 20 miles long and located in Starr County on the US-Mexico border.
• Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticizes the announcement.

The Biden administration has announced plans to construct a segment of a border wall in southern Texas as a measure to address the increasing levels of immigration.

This construction will cover approximately 20 miles (32km) in Starr County along the US-Mexico border, an area that has seen significant numbers of border crossings.

It’s worth noting that building a border wall was a prominent policy pursued by former President Donald Trump and vehemently opposed by the Democratic Party.

During his 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden had pledged not to continue building the wall if he were elected.

Shortly after taking office, his administration issued a proclamation stating that building a wall along the southern border was not a practical solution.

However, President Biden has recently stated that he is unable to halt the construction of the border wall because the funding for it had already been allocated.

When questioned about the effectiveness of the wall, he straightforwardly stated that he did not believe it would be effective.

Furthermore, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a statement defending this latest action, emphasizing that the funds being used for the border wall construction were already designated for a border barrier.

During his daily news conference, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed his criticism of the announcement, stating that the construction of a wall goes against what President Biden had previously advocated.

The increasing number of illegal border crossings has presented a significant challenge for President Biden’s administration.

Government data reveals that over 245,000 crossings have occurred just this year in the Rio Grande Valley region, and September is expected to set a new record for border crossings.

Numerous U.S. cities are feeling the strain caused by this influx of migrants. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has estimated that the cost of accommodating more than 100,000 newcomers since last year will reach $12 billion over the next three years.

To deter migrants from embarking on the journey, Mayor Adams is embarking on a trip to Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador this week, emphasizing that the city has reached its capacity to handle the situation.

The construction of the border wall has required the waiver of numerous federal laws, including the Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.

This move has stirred controversy and drawn the ire of environmentalists, who argue that these structures will disrupt the habitats of endangered plants and animals.

A proposal from the US Customs and Border Protection outlines the construction of barriers that will include substantial bollards set in a concrete base, along with the installation of gates, cameras, and CCTV equipment.

The funding for this new section will be sourced from allocations secured during Donald Trump’s presidency.

This marks the first instance of the Biden administration exercising its authority to authorize the construction of new border walls.

Such approvals were frequent during the Trump administration, resulting in the construction of approximately 50 miles of new wall and the enhancement of 400 miles of existing barriers.